Wyman Woods work will wrap up in fall; pool upgrades next

Park will close during second phase of work; planning for potential swimming pool fixes begins today

The Grandview Heights Board of Control on Monday, Jan. 6, accepted the bid of Jess Construction Inc. for the Wyman Woods renovation project.

The city signed a contract with the Arcanum-based company late that day, and work on the project is expected to begin in February or March and wrap up by the fall, Parks and Recreation Director Sean Robey said.

Jess offered the lowest bid of $1,494,000 for the project -- about $80,000 lower than the engineer's estimated cost, Robey said.

"We received seven bids and three of them were under the engineer's estimate," he said.

The Wyman Woods project will be completed in two phases, Robey said.

The first part will involve site work, including the installation of an underground storm-water system to help eliminate most flooding issues in the park; installation of a new playground; and improvements to the parking lot and the multiuse field on the east side of the park, he said.

The second phase of the project will involve renovations to the shelter house, including the addition of accessible restrooms and a kitchen area.

While the park will remain open during the early stages of the work, it will be closed to the public during most of the renovation project, Robey said.

"The work is spread throughout the park, so it will have to be closed," he said.

Most areas of the park are expected to reopen in the fall, although the east-side field will not be open for public use until spring 2015 to allow for the reseeding to take hold, Robey said.

"We're going to try to get the work done by September," he said. "We'd like to hold a dedication ceremony in October to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Wyman Woods shelter house."

The dedication for the Pierce Field improvement project will be held the Saturday before Memorial Day, just after the parade and just before the Grandview Baseball Softball Association games, Robey said.

With Pierce Field complete and the Wyman Woods project starting soon, the next area of focus will be to consider improvements at the municipal pool.

"We will be looking to work with a consultant and the parks advisory board to start compiling some potential design ideas for the pool," Robey said. "We will also be reaching out to the community to get their ideas of how they want the pool to look in the future."

This year will be the current pool's 35th year, "and typically you get about 30 years out of a municipal pool," he said.

In recent years, the pool has experienced a number of leakage problems, and the infrastructure -- in particular, the filtration system -- is nearing the end of its life span, Robey said.

"We also have some accessibility issues, in particular with the baby pool, that we need to address," he said.

In addition to infrastructure improvements, elements such as slides or splash pads also may be considered, Robey said.

The parks advisory board is expected to begin discussion of a potential pool project at its meeting today, Jan. 9.

The process of developing design improvements for the pool will take several months and any construction work would not begin until next year at the earliest, Robey said.